Fifteen thousand visitors are expected to visit the area during this month’s third Manizales Gourmet Food Fair, this year held in conjunction with the first meeting of Latin American gastronomic tourism.
Director of the Cotelco Caldas, Maria Tamayo Bustamente, said that this year there are two new proposals aimed at strengthening the rich cuisine and creating an event that characterizes the city, located in the country’s central heartland coffee zone between Bogota and Medellin.
The First Latin American Meeting, held from September 23 to 25, will showcase developing success stories of Latin American gastronomic destinations and their strategies for how they achieved it.
Peru will be the featured guest country, and Peruvian culinary experts will discuss the impact of Peruvian cuisine in the twentieth century and the growing global recognition of products such as pisco, an alcoholic beverage typical of the country.
Experts of gastronomy from Argentina, Mexico, Brazil and Venezuela will also attend.
The Third Gourmet Food Fair will be held from September 25 to 27, will 107 exhibitors from around the country. According to Tamayo Bustamente, the idea is to integrate all different aspects of the sector, including tourism and traditional typical foods. They also hope to create business links between farmers and restaurants.
It is hoped that this event will help to stimulate hotel occupancy rates, whose target this year is 65 per cent.
“We have not only to build the reputation of Manizales as one of seven destinations of Colombian national pride… so that the world knows that Manizales exists.”